


I Walk a Lonely Road

by alex_is_not_real (fangirl_with_many_fandoms)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, Essentially a SAO AU, F/M, Gen, LadyNoir - Freeform, Miraculous Online AU, Online VR Game, mlsecretsanta 2017
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 09:12:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13210590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_with_many_fandoms/pseuds/alex_is_not_real
Summary: Adrien struggles in his daily life, the only reprieve he gets is when he logs on to his father's company's game. He expected to hate it, but the lovely Ladybug is there.





	I Walk a Lonely Road

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pawsomelybuggy](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=pawsomelybuggy).



> Merry Christmas to pawsomelybuggy on Tumblr.  
> I had loads of fun writing this, I hope you enjoy the AU.

               Adrien sighed as he shut the door to his room after another draining fight with his father. Walking past the unnecessary accessories that his father would buy him, he laid on his bed staring at the ceiling. He took a deep breath and reached for his headset. As he slipped the goggles over his eyes a pleasant voice spoke in his ears.

               “Miraculous Online, starting up. Log in?” The computerized voice paused.

               With his first smile that day, he spoke, “Chat Noir, logging in.” The blank expanse in front of his eyes lit up, forming shapes. After a moment of loading, the scene around him solidified. He opened his eyes in a different room, laying down in a different bed. He grinned. “Finally.” He sighed again, this time in relief.

               With a motion of his hand in the air, he pulled up the player menu. Searching his friend’s list, he found Ladybug’s profile. She wasn’t online yet. His mood dampened slightly, but he figured she’d log on soon enough. Swinging his legs off the bed, he rose. He checked himself in the mirror, the face that stared back at him was his own, but he liked it much better than the one his father owned back at home.

               The long, black jacket that hung from his shoulders made him appear mysterious. He wore thick leather boots that didn’t have laces. He was clad primarily in black with accents of green and silver. He had a metal rod stuck in his belt under his coat for battling. He smirked, allowing his carefully adjusted mask to shatter. He could be himself here. Nobody knew who he really was.

               The sun flashed in through the single window in the small room. He pulled the curtains aside and watched the sun begin to set behind towering peaks dusted with snow. He opened the door and checked out of the inn he had stayed in. Walking in the artificial sunlight warmed his skin. He was surrounded by towering trees with a few small buildings. This was his favorite town to stay in. It was simple. _Homely._

               He tilted his head back and basked in the setting light. When he heard someone shout he turned with a start. He saw his fellow guild member, DJBubbles. He only slightly regretted his name choice, but he wore the title proudly. “Hey Bubbles!” He laughed.

               Jogging over to him, the tan boy said, “That’s not fair, _Catman_!” He punched him lightly in the arm. He was wearing a ghastly combination of red, yellow, and blue, somehow, he made it work. The red pants giving way to a jacket that was primarily blue with yellow cuffs rolled up to his elbows. Outside of the game, they were close friends. Despite Adrien’s strict schedule, they could meet up sometimes. He could still remember the time he had tried to celebrate his birthday with Nino, but his father had dragged him away to another photoshoot to promote the game. Chat Noir was taken out of his train of thought when DJBubbles asked him a question.

               “What?” He responded eloquently.

               He shook his head in feigned disappointment, but cracked a smile. “I asked if you have seen ‘your’ Lady yet?”

               Chat Noir looked at the ground with a frown. “No, she hasn’t logged on yet.”

               He didn’t see DJ’s eyes flit to the open space behind him, but he felt the thin wire wrap around his body and hoist him into the air.

               “Oh, I haven’t?” A short girl stood behind him, clad in red with black polka dots. A black jacket went down to her ribs. Her boots were red with black laces, similar to combat boots. She was grinning in triumph, the end of the yo-yo wire gripped in one hand.

               “My Lady!!” Chat Noir’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “I was waiting for you!” His green eyes were full of excitement and utter adoration for the strong heroine.

               She relaxed her hold on the wire and he fell ungracefully to the ground. “I thought cats always landed on their feet?” She held out her hand to help him up. He took it and placed a gentle kiss to the back of it.

               A girl in a black bodysuit with a purple glowing power symbol on her torso spoke up. Silver boots hugged her legs up to her thighs. She put her hands on her hips. “You two are undeniably adorable. I recorded that whole thing, going to post it on the Ladyblog later.”

               “Hey LadyWifi! How goes it?” He bows dramatically, sweeping his arm across the space in front of him. He had forgotten about her blog that she had dedicated to the game, but more specifically to their guild. He guessed he could understand a little bit of why she had chosen them. Firstly, because she knew them the best. Secondly, after Chat Noir and Ladybug had both reached past 1,000 level, they had received a Kwami, which gave them special abilities. Ladybug could generate random one-use items that were surprisingly helpful. Chat Noir could destroy something with his touch, leading the way to beating the challenge. They often were the ones to take lead when Hawkmoth would send his Akumas to take over the players. The ultimate boss battle at the end of the game is supposed to be him. You win by removing his Miraculous, but no one had come close yet.

               “Wifi!” Ladybug scolded, almost embarrassed. “That’s not important content!”

               “But it’s the content my followers want to see.” She shrugged, completely unapologetic.

               As Ladybug opened her mouth to counter her, the otherworldly scream of another claimed Akuma victim rang throughout the trees.

               “I guess that’s our cue.” Chat Noir pulled his baton out, crouching, preparing to spring. “After you, My Lady.” He winked at her.

               She rolled her eyes, but smiled as she took off running through the trees. Spying a sturdy enough branch, she threw her yo-yo using it to pull herself into the air. It reminded people the habits of a different red, insect based hero. Coming to a stop at the top of a tree, she scanned the area, locating the Akuma.

               “That way.” She shouted, pointing in the correct direction.

               The battle ensued.

               With a roar, the ravaging Akuma turned to them. The signature purple butterfly appeared over their face. There was a quiver of arrows on their back, a wicked looking bow held firmly in their hand. A black hood was covering their head, hiding their face from them. An arrow was drawn and fired, striking the ground where Chat Noir had been standing seconds before. He dove to the side as the forest floor erupted into flame.

               “Oh, that’s bad!” He yelled. “No more arrows!!” He shouted at the Akuma. Which prompted another arrow to fly inches from his face, narrowly missing with a sidestep.

               “Lucky Charm!” Ladybug cried, hoping for a way to quickly end the situation. A shield fell heavily into her arms. She huffed under the weight. Scanning the area, she planned her course of action. She darted forward, slamming an incoming arrow aside, yelling at Chat Noir to get ready. She leaped into the air, knocking the bow out of the Akuma’s grasp. Chat lunged for it, touching it with his Cataclysm. The bow melted into nothing, a dark butterfly fluttered out. Ladybug caught it.

               A white butterfly took to the sky after a few whispered words. Ladybug rushed to the archer collapsed on the ground, helping the woman to her feet. She explained what had happened to the confused victim. As she handed her the bow that had lain on the ground, she waved goodbye.

               The other three heroes waited for her, talking in admiration.

               “Lady Luck strikes again.” DJBubbles said.

               “I love her.” Chat Noir said, with awe in his voice.

               “We know, lover-boy. I can’t wait to upload this footage to the Ladyblog. This was a badass battle!” She pumped a fist in the air. The other two laughed.

               Ladybug returned to them, smiling. “What now?” Her blue eyes were shining, like they always did after saving someone.

               Chat opened his mouth to respond, to tell her how beautiful she was, but he collapsed on the spot.

               “Chat? CHAT?!” Ladybug yelled. DJ caught him before he hit the ground. Ladybug held his face, looking intently, trying to detect movement. She couldn’t check for a pulse, but she almost did. She caught herself before trying to find a heartbeat in an avatar.

LadyWifi was checking his status on his profile. “He’s offline.” She said. “What made him log off like that?!”

“I don’t know.” DJ said. “Let’s get him to a rest house, then I’ll sign out, to see what happened.”

Back at the same inn, they all ended up checking in. They rented one big room with only two beds, since their bodies were just going to unconsciously lay there essentially lifeless. Laying him carefully on the first bed, DJ was urged to use the other bed. He laid there and his body went still.

Ladybug looked at LadyWifi anxiously. “I hope everything is okay. What should we do?”

“We might as well sign off for now. They can tell us what happened in the group chat. We do have a project to work on tonight.”

“You’re right. Okay.” She nodded to assure herself. “I’ll be right out.”

LadyWifi walked over to the small couch in the corner. “Okay, I’ll leave room for you by me.” She laid down and went still, too.

Ladybug was the only active one in the room. It was slightly odd, being surrounded by motionless bodies, but she didn’t let it bother her. Walking back to Chat Noir, she leaned over him, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. “You better be okay, Kitty. We still haven’t met for real yet.” Almost without a decision, she crawled into the bed beside him.

_Ladybug logging off._

Marinette sat up in her bed, tossing her headset aside gently. Grabbing her phone viciously to check her notifications.

[To group {Miraculous Idiots} from Chat Noir] Sorry guys. No need to worry. Just got unplugged. Will be back to play later… Hopefully.

[To group {Miraculous Idiots} from Chat Noir] I hope you didn’t just leave my body in the dirt lmao.

[To group {Miraculous Idiots} from DJBubbles]: He’s okay!! Praise the music maker!!

[To group {Miraculous Idiots} from LadyWifi]: Okay Noir. And of course, we left it right there.

[To group {Miraculous Idiots} from Chat Noir]: Haha I figured lol

[Text from Alya]: Girl, I know you’re worried, but I have something that will cheer you up

[Text from Alya]: Come on, I know you want to knowww

[Text to Alya]: Okay..? I’ll bite.

[To group {Miraculous Idiots} from Ladybug]: Don’t worry. It’s safe in a bed.

Marinette blushed hard as she remembered her body was in that bed too.

[Text from Alya]: *drumroll* XD

[Text from Alya]: Adrien is doing a photoshoot for Miraculous Online in the park!!!

Marinette squeals and almost throws her phone.

[Text to Alya]: RIGHT NOW?!?

[Text from Alya]: Yes. If you hurry you can make it. I’m already here.

[Text to Alya]: OMW

Marinette sprinted to the nearby park, the big crowd made it hard to see Adrien, but she could see him in a fictional character’s outfit, bracing a sword against his shoulder. Nearly jumping with excitement as she watched him, she stayed there for the rest of the shoot. As Adrien stepped away to change out of the clothes, Marinette rushed to find Alya. She waved her phone at her, with good shots of Adrien.

“Glad you could make it.” Alya said dryly.

Marinette was too busy scrolling through Alya’s photos to care.

Adrien had been yelled at by his father in the changing tent for being on the game again. Even though his father owned it, he only wanted Adrien modeling for it, not playing it. Adrien sighed hard, he wrapped up in a black jacket and wrapped a green scarf over his face. He quickly walked out of the park, unnoticed by cameras.

At the park gate, he accidentally bumped shoulders with a short, blue-haired girl.

“I’m sorry!” He told her.

She smiled at him. “It’s alright!” She turned back to her friend and they walked across the road. Adrien watched the kind girl leave. He hunched his shoulders as he turned to head home.

If only he had known he had just bumped into his Lady.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope to continue this idea.


End file.
